BOX SCORE

MADISON, N.J. – William Paterson (14-4-4) couldn't overcome Rutgers-Newark (13-8-3) in the ECAC Metro Tournament final Nov. 13 at Drew University, losing 3-1 in the penalty-kick shootout following a 1-1 double-overtime draw.

Richie Villamar started the shootout with a successful kick for the fourth-seeded Scarlet Raiders, but Karl Schroeder (Long Valley, N.J./Gill St. Bernard's) could not match it, missing wide left.  Adrian Djeka gave Rutgers-Newark a 2-0 lead, and Dan Patton (Pennsauken, N.J./Pennsauken) knocked in his try to make it 2-1.

Harrison Wagner scored for the Raiders, and after Wes Ostrzycki (Edison, N.J./Edison) sent his shot off the left post, the second-seeded Pioneers needed a miss by Rutgers-Newark to stay alive.  Senior Zach Collins (Bayville, N.J./Central Regional) came up big, saving Valdrin Seci's shot toward the right post, but graduate student Joe Strawman (Ringoes, N.J./Hunterdon Central Regional) had his fourth-round attempt turned away by Raider keeper Jonathan Frances at the same spot, handing Rutgers-Newark its first ECAC championship.

The Raiders scored the first goal for the third time in as meetings between the teams this season when Seci headed in a crossing pass from senior midfielder Tom King in the 11th minute.  King sent a sharp pass from 20 yards out near the goal line to an unmarked Seci for the tally.

Rutgers-Newark took just one shot in the final 35 minutes of the opening half to allow the Pioneers an 8-3 advantage in shots at halftime.

Freshman Marcus Hackett (Montclair, N.J./Immaculate Conception) leveled the score in the 52nd minute when he headed in a free kick from junior midfielder Michael Encarnacion (Franklin, N.J./Passaic County Tech).  Encarnacion sent his restart kick from 30 yards out on the right side to Hackett, who was charging to goal from inside the left corner of the 18.

Frances kept the Raiders in the fray with several spectacular saves.  WP fired back-to-back  shots from the middle of the six in the 49th minute, but Frances batted back a one-timer by sophomore midfielder Matt Nigro (Morganville, N.J./Marlboro) before a rebound shot by senior forward Joe Maddolin (Dumont, N.J./Dumont) was blocked.  Frances also stopped close-range blasts by Nigro in the 56th minute and Encarnacion just 33 seconds later.

Raider freshman forward Diego Moraes hammered a shot from 10 yards out in the 64th minute that Collins stopped to keep the Pioneers even.

In the first overtime, Frances made a diving save of 20-yard shot by Encarnacion in the 103rd minute, and watched a 15-yarder by Encarnacion sail high with two minutes left as the Scarlet Raiders survived three shots on goal while not taking a shot of their own. 

Overall, the Pioneers owned an 18-9 shot advantage.  Frances, the Most Outstanding Player, notched seven saves, while Collins made three stops.

The title game was a rematch of the 2008 final when William Paterson downed the Scarlet Raiders in a shootout round (4-3) following a 1-1 double-overtime tie.  This marked the third time WP and Rutgers-Newark met this season.  The two teams played to a 1-1 double-overtime draw during the regular season (Oct. 22), and the Pioneers earned a 2-1 overtime win in the first round of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Tournament (Oct. 31).